1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a slider for slide fastener provided with automatic stopper device, the slider being comprised of five members, that is, a body, a pull tag, a pawl member, a leaf spring and a cover. More particularly the invention relates to a slider for slide fastener having a configuration which allows the leaf spring and cover to be loaded on the slider body in a stabilized condition upon automatic assembly or manual assembly procedure.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional slider provided with an automatic stopper device, which has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 62-41608, as shown in FTC. 14, a front post and a rear post 112 (corresponding to a mounting post) for supporting a leaf spring 104 are provided on front and rear portions of atop face of an upper blade 107 of the slider body 101. Low shoulders 150 are provided on both sides of each of the front and rear posts 112 and a head 114 projected upward is provided between the shoulders 150. The surface of this head 114 is formed into a face curved downward in the forward direction at the front post 112 while in the rearward direction at the rear post 112. Then, the leaf spring 104 having cutouts 131 at both ends thereof into which the heads 114 are inserted with play is placed on the shoulders 150 between the front post 112 and the rear post 112. A cover 105 having a groove 139 formed therein which can fit to the heads 114 with mounted over the front and rear posts 112, so that the leaf spring 104 is supported by the shoulders 150 and the thick portion of the cover 105.
As shown in FIG. 15, according to another conventional example disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-19049, a supporting piece 212 (corresponding to the rear mounting post) and a supporting portion 212 (corresponding to the front mounting post) are provided on front and rear portions of the upper blade 207 of the slider body 201. A front leaf spring supporting portion 237 and a rear leaf spring supporting portion 237 are provided at a front portion and a rear portion on an inside wall of a cover 205, respectively. The front leaf spring supporting portion 237 and the rear leaf spring supporting portion 237 are bent inward or outward so that each of the leaf spring supporting portions 237 covers the leaf spring 204 loosely when the leaf spring 204 is inserted and disposed between the front leaf spring supporting portion 237 and the rear leaf spring supporting portion 237. Then, the cover 205 is mounted on the supporting piece 212 and the supporting portion 212.
In a slider for slide fastener provided with an automatic stopper device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-65909, as shown in FIG. 16, mounting posts 312 for attachment of a cover 305 are provided at front and rear portions on a top face of an upper blade 307 of a slider body 301 and a leaf spring 304 is provided between the mounting posts 312. An engaging portion 314 having a V-shaped groove 319 is provided on the top face of each of the mounting posts 312 in order to attach the leaf spring 304 on it and the leaf spring 304 is disposed on the engaging portion 314 and then, the leaf spring 304 is fixed temporarily with play by expanding the V-shaped groove 319. With this condition, the cover 305 is fixed on the body 301 such that the engaging portion 314 is covered with a covering concave portion 339 provided in an inner face of the cover 305.
In recent years, the price of the slide fastener has been declining due to market competition and therefore, to secure competitiveness in the market, reduction of manufacturing cost of the slide fastener has been demanded. For that purpose, manufacturing cost of a slider which is one of components of the slide fastener is necessary. The slider has been manufactured globally with its manufacturing centers scattered at each country and in order to produce the sliders at low cost at respective manufacturing centers, assembly thereof with automatic assembly machine is preferable because it is capable of manufacturing a large number of products effectively and generates no deflection in product quality. However, because the automatic assembly machine is expensive, manual assembly with a large man power may produce a larger amount of products at a lower cost rather than by introducing the automatic assembly machine depending on the manufacturing center.
In a well known slider as shown in FIG. 14 disclosed in the aforementioned Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 62-41608, a leaf spring 104 is mounted between a head 114 and a shoulder 150 provided on top faces of a front post 112 and a rear post 112 erected at front and rear portions of a body 101 and a cover 105 having a concave groove 139 which allows the head 114 to be loosely engaged in is placed from above. Thus, the position of the leaf spring 104 is unstable before the cover 105 is mounted and further, when the cover 105 is mounted, the leaf spring 104 comes into a contact with the cover 105, so that the leaf spring 104 is likely to drop from the top face of the post 112 and therefore, its manual assembly is difficult.
In a slider as shown in FIG. 15 disclosed in the aforementioned Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-19049, the leaf spring 204 is engaged in the cover 205 so that the leaf spring 204 is disposed between a front leaf spring supporting portion 237 and a rear leaf spring supporting portion 237. Then, both of the leaf spring supporting portions 237 are bent so as to cover the front and rear portions of the leaf spring 204. Thus, the leaf spring 204 is installed in the cover 205 preliminarily before it is assembled with the body 201 and therefore, the position of the leaf spring 204 is stabilized. However, in an automatic assembly machine capable of manufacturing at a high efficiency by supplying and assembling a body 201, a pull tag 202, a pawl 203, a leaf spring 204 and a cover 205 successively, when the leaf spring 204 is installed in the cover 205, the position of the cover 205 is inverted. That is, with the cover 205 turned upside down, the leaf spring 204 is inserted into the cover 205 from above and installed. A process of inverting the cover position again to restore to its original position is necessary, so that the structure of the automatic assembly machine becomes complicated. Thus, this method is not suitable for application to the automatic assembly.
Further, in a slider shown in FIG. 16 disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-65909, the leaf spring 304 is mounted on the mounting post 312 having an engaging portion 314 for fixing the leaf spring 304 temporarily on its top face and a covering concave portion 339 provided in an inner face of the cover 305 embraces the engaging portion 314 so as to prevent the leaf spring 304 from escaping out. Consequently, the position of the leaf spring 304 assembled on the body 301 is stabilized, thereby preventing the leaf spring 304 from dropping from the mounting post 312 when the cover 305 is mounted. However, the slider does not have a configuration which allows the leaf spring 304 to be fixed both to the cover 305 and the mounting post 312, so that it cannot meet both cases where the leaf spring 304 is fixed to the cover 305 and where the leaf spring 304 is fixed to the body 301.